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Hewlett Packard extends Autonomy offer Date: Tuesday 13 Sep 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Computing giant Hewlett Packard has extended the deadline for its offer for UK software company Autonomy until 3 October after receiving only 41.62% of acceptances from Autonomy shareholders. HP is offering 2550p for each Autonomy share in a deal that values the data search software company at around £7,091m. Autonomy shares closed at 1,429p the night before the HP deal was announced. HP's directors expect the acquisition will be earnings enhancing (on a non-generally accepted accounting principles basis) in the first full year of ownership. Autonomy directors are recommending acceptance of the offer and have already done so in respect of their holdings, which account for 9.12% of the existing share capital of Autonomy. At 11.05am, shares in Autonomy were flat at 2,524p.

Citigroup upgrades Gem Diamonds from hold to buy, target price cut from 288p to 278p

Citigroup downgrades Fresnillo from hold to sell, target price raised from 1500p to 1864p

The supplier of software and consultancy services for the capital markets industry, First Derivatives (FDP), announced that ILQ, a foreign currency exchange broker, has chosen to use the company's Delta Flow service. The software is said to provide the next generation in liquidity, flow and risk management, allowing traders to deliver improved execution to their clients

Revenues at Murgitroyd Group (MUR) rose 13% to 33.2 million pounds in the year ended 31st May 2011, while pre-tax profits rose 8.7% to 4 million pounds, following expansion into Tokyo, San Francisco, and Munich. The board believes that despite volatile trading conditions, the patent and trade market attorney can generate value for shareholders both organically and through acquisitions. The group proposed a 7.25p final dividend per share, giving a total dividend of 10.75p, up 7.5% on the year.

Some coverage The TEG Group (TEG) announced that it has entered into a contract with the Waste Recycling Group to process waste from its facilities. The contract, which is due to commence in the second half of 2012, is valued at between 2 million pounds and 3 million pounds, depending upon the volume of waste delivered over the period. With a minimum term of two and a half years, the contract will provide TEG with a stable medium-term revenue stream, and will further cement the company's relationship with WRG.

Fox Davies remain bullish on Serabi Mining (SRB), re-iterating its "buy" recommendation and price target of 49p. The miner recent provided updates on its Currutela and Piaui prospects, with a recent geosphyscial survey indicating the latter could now have a strike length of 1,400 metres, as opposed to the previously estimated 300 metre strike length. The same survey also indicated strong geophysical anomalism between the Curretela prospect and the recent Espesto discovery.

Brewin Dolphin re-iterated its "add" stance for Valiant Petroleum (VPP) and price target of 600p, as the group provided a update on its exploration programme for the remainder of the year, during which a considerable number of prospects will be drilled. The broker feels the programme will provide Valiant with a pipeline of news flow, particularly with the fourth quarter testing of the Zapffe site in Norway. Overall, Brewin saw the update as positive, and thus recommends the shares ahead of any drilling results

Ken Turner, Sceptre's Chief Executive, said: "It is great to be able to announce that another of our major clients has not only renewed their contract with Sceptre but has decided to extend it further. This further demonstrates that our machine solutions, accompanied with our market leading customer service offering, allows our clients to extract greater value from their machines. This contract win, along with the other significant wins announced earlier this year, has allowed us to continue to grow market share and progress towards our target of becoming the largest machine operator within the UK pub market."

Contract with Marston's PLC Sceptre is pleased to announce that it has secured a new contract to supply leisure machines to Marston's PLC. The new contract will run for three years commencing in October 2011 and succeeds the previous three-year deal agreed in 2008. Sceptre has also been given the opportunity to increase the number of machines supplied to Marston's PLC, and will continue to supply both the managed and tenanted/leased divisions. This contract follows other recent contracts wins including Punch Pub Company, SA Brains and The McManus Pub Company.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109130830001205O

Marks & Spencer opens its flagship store in East London today, boasting features it hopes will help revenues rise by up to £2.5bn in three years. The 140,000 sq ft department store in Europe’s largest shopping centre, Westfield in Stratford, will hold the High Street favourite’s first on-site bakery, and a delicatessen counter equipped with a specially-designed pasta machine, writes the Daily Mail.

One to watch -Asset manager Ashmore saw assets under management rise to $65.8bn at the end of June from $35.3bn the year before, with the gain comprising net subscriptions of $15.5bn, investment performance of $5.1bn and $9.9bn through the acquisition of EMM. Profit before tax for the year ended 30 June rose 13% from last year to £245.9m.

Light commercial vehicle hire firm Northgate continues to trade in line with expectations, despite tough economic conditions in the UK and Spain. In the UK, vehicle utilisation in the four months to 31 August 2011 has averaged 90%, with the month of August averaging 91%, a steady improvement from 89% in the month of April 2011. In Spain, utilisation rates averaged over 91% in the four months to 31 August 2011, a 1% improvement on the same period last year.

Gardening is one of the country's main recreational activities but the market is fragmented and quite competitive, writes the Scotsman. That said, William Sinclair Holdings has approximately 25 per cent of the British market, which puts it in a strong position. Its interim figures, published at the beginning of June, saw sales revenue up 19 per cent and profits and earnings more than trebling, with a useful increase in the dividend. William Sinclair's shares, quoted on Aim, peaked at around 210p in June and, on current levels, could warrant further analysis, according to the Scotsman, which suggests to buy.

Ongoing problems in the banking sector, compounded by national debt crises, have been weighing heavily on commercial property companies in recent months, writes the Questor column in the Telegraph. However, there are one or two areas of light in the gloom. Commercial property that is in the right area, with established management and a good development programme remains attractive to tenants and to lending banks. London, and particularly the West End, where the majority of Great Portland Estates property is held, remains attractive. The company added to its development portfolio on Monday, announcing the acquisition of a 2.3-acre site in the West End for £120m. It has also finalised a £132.7m joint venture to buy two office buildings on Gray's Inn Road on the edge of the City. It may be weighed down by macro-issues but this should be offset by its own performance and sector. Buy, recommends the Telegraph.

The last time we looked at WS Atkins, we decided to buy, reasoning that the combination of what was a thin valuation and the engineering group's sensible strategy of expanding its reach in the energy sector augured well, says the Investment Column in the Independent. Since then, however, markets have suffered a well-document slump as investors factored in the prospect of another slowdown in global growth. Nevertheless, the group's diversity and international reach means that Atkins is better placed to deal with any downturn than many other companies. Adding to this, there is the valuation, which has become thinner still. In fact, Atkins trades on around 7 times forward earnings. All the while, it yields well over 5 per cent. We see no reason to cut and run. Buy, says the Independent.

The Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis has confirmed plans to take over Mitchells & Butlers, the pubs group that counts him as its biggest shareholder. Mr Lewis's Piedmont investment vehicle said last night that it had approached M&B with an offer proposal some weeks ago – but that the bid had failed to win the backing of the board. As a result, it confirmed that it is "now considering whether it will make a further offer proposal at 230p per M&B share", the Independent reports.

Panmure Gordon upgrades Cookson from hold to buy.